I have a 69 Camaro built the 4th week of OCTOBER 1968. I need exhaust manifolds, I found a right side cast I 14 8, (Sept. 14, 1968) and a left side cast I 19 8, (Sept., 19 1968). Are these dates too early for my car?

The body tag date of the car isn't the determining factor. The manifolds were installed at the engine plant so the engine build date is the key. It would have to be a short time after the casting dates.

I would be more concerned with the quality of the manifolds. They are often badly pitted or cracked along the parting lines. Very common for the end bolt hole flanges to be broken off. AIR manifolds are worth more than non-AIR.

Would I be better off just buying new manifolds through Classic Industries or D&R Classic Automotive who has "**GM Licensed**" manifolds. Will originals fit and flow better?

If the ones you are looking at are reasonable and in good shape, I would get them and hang on to them as finding dates and in good shape are getting harder. Also, it depends if you're trying to go for an all correct car. I don't believe the repro ones have dates.

If reasonable is $300 for the right and $375 for the left. Both sight unseen, both eBay. They have photos, but they have both been painted, which could have covered any visible cracks. Both sellers have good reps on eBay.

As William stated, it depends on the date the engine was assembled. The manifolds should be before that date. My 67 BB motor was assembled 02/14/67 and the exhaust manifolds were made the second week of Jan 67. So it looks like they sat almost a month before being assembled to a motor. Maybe the shelf life was shorter in '69 because the BB's were made in larger quantities.

If reasonable is $300 for the right and $375 for the left. Both sight unseen, both eBay. They have photos, but they have both been painted, which could have covered any visible cracks. Both sellers have good reps on eBay.

The $375 price sounds like HB. If you don't need them ASAP -or- the dates are exact for what you need then I would hold off and keep looking. More reasonable deals do show up. $600+ for a set sounds like a lot.

May be interesting to note that BB exhaust manifolds were cast 4 to a mold (2 RH and 2 LH) on lines 5 and 6. Big block cases were cast one in a mold on line 1. There wasn't a lot of room for rough casting inventory at the motor plant, so casting over-runs had to be stored at the foundry. Parts that wound up in foundry inventory were stored "first in - last out", so castings that went into inventory tended to stay there for quite a while. Most of the inventory area at the foundry was located outside and was such a mess (particularly in the winter in western New York) that scheduling would often cast new parts rather then try to find the previously cast parts located in inventory. Soooo - if you find a nice set of exhaust manifolds that are within 6 months before the engine build date - no one should cry foul!